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A4 U.S. NEWS
Tuesday 1 augusT 2023

Crews are battling ‘fire whirls’ in California’s Mojave Desert

MOJAVE NATIONAL PRE- “It will change the habitat
SERVE, Calif. (AP) — Crews possibly permanently,” said
battled “fire whirls” in Cali- Ileene Anderson, a senior
fornia’s Mojave National scientist at the Center for
Preserve this weekend as Biological Diversity.
a massive wildfire crossed Even more, deer and big-
into Nevada amid danger- horn sheep could become
ously high temperatures trapped by the flames, she
and raging winds. said. If any manage to sur-
The York Fire was mapped vive the blaze, their resourc-
at roughly 120 square miles es in the newly scorched
(284 square kilometers) on landscape would be se-
Monday with no contain- verely limited.
ment. In 2020, the Dome Fire
The blaze erupted Friday ripped through the pre-
near the remote Caruthers serve, ravaging one of the
Canyon area of the vast world’s largest Joshua tree
wildland preserve, crossed forests. Conservationists,
the state line into Nevada including Anderson, are
on Sunday and sent smoke trying to revitalize the land
further east into the Las Ve- by planting new trees since
gas Valley. the species usually isn’t
A smoky hazy blotted out able to make a comeback
the sun midday on the Las Flames rise from the York Fire on Ivanpah Rd. on Sunday, July 30, 2023, in the Mojave National naturally after a wildfire.
Vegas Strip, and obliterat- Preserve, Calif. The desert hasn’t adapted
ed views of mountains sur- Associated Press to fires; such blazes are rare
rounding the city and sub- feet tall to several hundred where the fire burned Tues- spots charred tens of thou- because there are few igni-
urbs. Because of low visibil- feet high, with varying rota- day’s high was 96 degrees sands of acres of black- tion points in the harsh ter-
ity, the Harry Reid Interna- tional speeds were spotted Fahrenheit (35.5 Celsius), brush scrub, pinyon-juniper rain. Generally, most fires in
tional Airport in Las Vegas Sunday on the north end of according to the National woodlands and the fa- the desert are caused by
reported departure delays the York Fire. Weather Service. mous Joshua trees in the humans, Anderson said.
of 45 minutes or more, as “While these can be fasci- Significant portions of the New York Mountains in San The cause of the York Fire
well as slight delays for ar- nating to observe they are U.S. population have been Bernardino County. remains under investiga-
rivals. a very dangerous natural subject to extreme heat in It could take the pinyon-ju- tion, though authorities say
A fire whirl sometimes phenomena that can oc- recent weeks. Worldwide, niper woodlands 200 to 300 it started on private land
called a fire tornado is a cur during wildfires,” the July has been so steamy years to become “a func- within the preserve. Other
“spinning column of fire” park service wrote. thus far that scientists cal- tional community again,” details were not available
that forms when intense The whirls require high culate it will be the hottest while the blackbrush scrub Monday.
heat and turbulent winds temperatures to form. In month ever recorded and and Joshua trees are un- To the southwest, the Bon-
combine, according to the Searchlight, Nevada an un- likely the warmest to hit hu- likely to regrow after this ny Fire burned about 3.6
National Park Service. incorporated area about man civilization. catastrophic blaze, which square miles (9.3 square ki-
The vortexes which can 12 miles (19.31 kilometers) Wind-driven flames 20 feet erupted without human in- lometers) in the rugged hills
be anywhere from a few from the California border (6 meters) high in some tervention. of Riverside County. q

Two supermoons in August mean

double the stargazing fun

By MARCIA DUNN (357,344 kilometers) distant. founder of the Virtual Tele-
AP Aerospace Writer Because it’s the second full scope Project.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) moon in the same month, it Masi will provide a live we-
— The cosmos is offering up will be what’s called a blue bcast of Tuesday evening’s
a double feature in August: moon. supermoon, as it rises over
a pair of supermoons culmi- “Warm summer nights are the Coliseum in Rome.
nating in a rare blue moon. the ideal time to watch the “My plans are to capture
Catch the first show Tues- full moon rise in the eastern the beauty of this ... hope-
day evening as the full sky within minutes of sunset. fully bringing the emotion
moon rises in the south- And it happens twice in Au- of the show to our viewers,”
east, appearing slightly gust,” said retired NASA as- Masi said in an email.
brighter and bigger than trophysicist Fred Espenak, “The supermoon offers us A commercial airliner flies Northwest across Lake Michigan in
normal. That’s because it dubbed Mr. Eclipse for his a great opportunity to look front of the “Full Buck” supermoon, the first of four supermoons
in 2023, July 3, 2023, in Chicago.
will be closer than usual, eclipse-chasing expertise. up and discover the sky,” Associated Press
just 222,159 miles (357,530 The last time two full super- he added.
kilometers) away, thus the moons graced the sky in the This year’s first supermoon Provided clear skies, bin- as lunar maria the dark
supermoon label. same month was in 2018. It was in July. The fourth and oculars or backyard tele- plains formed by ancient
The moon will be even won’t happen again until last will be in September. scopes can enhance the volcanic lava flows and
closer the night of Aug. 2037, according to Italian The two in August will be experience, Espenak said, rays emanating from lunar
30 a scant 222,043 miles astronomer Gianluca Masi, closer than either of those. revealing such features craters.q